Chapter 186. Excuses (2)
A sudden commotion erupted in Nenya Village.
"Heh, I'd drop any foolish ideas if I were you. The moment I sense anything suspicious, this old man's head goes flying," Caron said with a smirk.
In the small village square, every resident had stepped out of their homes, drawn by the chaos unfolding before them. Trembling, they watched as a lone human held one of their own hostage.
"Elder!" one of them yelled.
"You wretched human! Release him at once!" shouted another.
The elves who were capable of fighting, including the village guards, ground their teeth and glared at Caron. The village elder—the very foundation of their community—was now at the mercy of a human.
"From this moment on, all of you will follow my orders. Understood?" Caron announced, his grin sharpening. "Now, everyone, listen carefully. Those who were originally from this village, stand to the left of the platform. Those who sought refuge here, stand to the right. Quickly."
The demand made no sense. The villagers murmured among themselves, exchanging uneasy glances.
That was when Caron pressed the tip of his blade against the elder's throat, and a thin line of crimson trickled down the old elf's neck. Gasping, the villagers hesitated no longer and began moving, their fear palpable.
"Good. You're all surprisingly obedient. I didn't expect you to be this desperate to save such garbage," Caron mused. He chuckled, giving the elder a rough punch on the back. "Hey, old man. You sure put on a good act, didn't you? Spent all this time scheming in secret, but now you wanna play innocent?"
From the side, Adina, who had been silently watching, muttered under her breath, "...Who's supposed to be the villain here?"
Nothing about Caron's actions resembled that of a hero rescuing a village. If anything, he looked more like a bandit raiding the place. This wasn't a method Adina could have ever imagined.
"There's a saying that goes, 'Doesn't matter how you get there, as long as you reach the empire'," Caron said.
"And who said that?" Adina asked.
"Caron Leston did," Caron answered.
"You're seriously insane," Adina said.
"Adina, sometimes the result is more important than the process. By now, those dark elf bastards have probably caught wind of this. We don't have time to go around convincing people one by one," Caron said.
The moment he beheaded those dark elves last night, he'd already gotten himself involved in this situation. Now, the only option was to finish the job before their enemies made their move.
"You contacted Leo, right?" Caron asked.
Adina gave a small nod and replied, "Yes... but I still don't know if this is the right call."
"If we leave him out in the open, he'll just end up as prey for the dark elves or demonic monsters. It's better to keep him inside the barrier and wait for support from the tiger clan," Caron replied, his tone cold and rational.
At this moment, the entire region was under dark elf control. There was no way he could move the elves he had rescued last night. And more importantly...
I need to keep the dark elves' attention focused here, Caron thought.
If they wanted to advance eastward into the great forest, they had to divert the enemy's gaze. In that regard, this village was an invaluable asset.
Caron's lips curled into a smirk as he tightened his grip on Rakaon's collar. He barked at the villagers, "Move faster!"
Persuasion was slow. Fear, on the other hand, worked wonders.
At his command, the elves hurried to separate into two groups. There was an obvious difference between the elves who had originally lived in the village and those who had taken refuge there.
The villagers looked relatively healthy, but the refugees were in terrible condition. Their bodies, like those of the ones Caron had personally rescued, were marred with blackened patches.
That could only mean one thing...
Thud!
"Aaaah!"
"E-Elder!"
That damned elder had already infected them with dark mana.
Disgusted, Caron threw the elder to the ground and kicked him several times. To an outsider, perhaps it would have looked as if a young human was tormenting an old elf, but Caron couldn't care less about appearances.
"Go on, try to self-destruct. You can't, can you?" Caron taunted.
"...My mana... What did you do to my mana?" Rakaon gasped.
"What do you think? My sword absorbed every last drop of it," Caron replied.
This wretched old creature no longer had any real power. Thanks to Guillotine, every ability Rakaon could have used had already been sealed. Now, all he could do was crawl around like the pathetic worm he was.
But an elder was still an elder.
"We must drive this vile human out of the village!" Rakaon cried out desperately. "Don't mind me! For the future of this village, I am willing to give my life—"
"Inciting the villagers? This bastard is taking your role!" Guillotine said.
"I think so too," Caron scoffed.
A few riled-up elves immediately tried to gather their mana.
Whoosh!
But the sheer force of Caron's mana filled them with fear. A suffocating aura, laced with murderous intent, flooded the square.
The elves had never experienced such raw, overwhelming bloodlust before. Their bodies locked up in terror.
"Don't do anything foolish," Caron said. "I'll explain everything."
The village guards didn't dare move either. Their captain stood frozen, held in check by Adina's claws resting lightly against his throat.
Caron pressed his foot down on the elder's chest, then turned his gaze toward the refugees. He instructed, "Those who came from outside, step forward one at a time. Villagers, stay where you are."
No one moved.
Caron let out a small sigh and gave Adina a slight nod.
Without hesitation, Adina strode toward the group of refugees and muttered, "I really don't know if this is the right way to go about this."
"It's better to show them and help them realize the truth," Caron replied.
"...Are all humans like this?" Adina asked.
"I'm just particularly bad," Caron said with a smirk.
As Adina approached, a young elven woman stepped forward, spreading her arms to block her path. She was clearly the group's representative.
"If you need slaves, take me," the woman pleaded. "These people—these kind villagers—let us into their home. Please, take me instead..."
There was clearly a misunderstanding.
Adina let out a long sigh and said, "That's not what's happening. Just come with me."
"I don't understand... Why would a member of the tiger clan help a human attack an elven village...?" the elf asked.
"It would be in your best interest to cooperate," Adina warned. "I'm not exactly known for my patience."
She had only been traveling with Caron for a short time, but it seemed his personality was already rubbing off on her.
At Adina's firm words, the elven woman silently followed her and approached Caron.
Caron watched her with a faint smile and asked, "Your name?"
The elf hesitated for a moment before responding in a small voice, "Ellen."
"Alright, Ellen. Do you know what I hate most in this world?" Caron asked. "Slave traders. I have no intention of taking you or anyone else as a slave. Now, now, don't be so nervous... Come a little closer."
Ellen cautiously stepped forward to Caron, who carefully examined the nape of her neck. Her skin was blackened in patches, which was a clear sign that dark mana had been injected into her body.
"Not only did you plan to hand them over to the dark elves, but you even did the groundwork in advance. You bastard, you're quite the loyal servant, aren't you?" Caron remarked mockingly.
Thud!
Caron kicked the elder in the stomach once more before letting out a sigh.
"Urgh...!" the elder reacted.
Then, gripping Guillotine firmly, Caron turned to Ellen and said, "This will sting a little."
"...Pardon?" Ellen asked.
Thud.
The dark blue blade pierced Ellen's thigh.
Gasps filled the air.
"W-What are you doing?!" one of the elves cried out.
"Dear World Tree...!" another exclaimed.
The elves around them cried out in shock. But their panic was short-lived.
"Ah..." A sigh of relief escaped Ellen's lips, instead of a scream. The throbbing headache that had been tormenting her vanished in an instant.
"H-How... How did you do that?" she asked in a trembling voice.
Caron grinned and shrugged, then said, "It's a long story... Ah! Looks like they're here."
Following his gaze, Ellen turned toward the village entrance. There, a group of elves was walking in—accompanied by Leo.
"Caron!" Leo called out.
The sight of a group of elves stirred the villagers into murmurs.
"Aren't those...?" one of the elves asked.
"Aren't they the ones who ran away in the middle of the night?" another added.
"But Elder Rakaon said they—" someone else began.
As Caron saw the unease spread among the elves, he smirked and looked down at Rakaon.
"You said you wanted to be judged by your own kin, didn't you?" Caron asked. "I'm curious to see what kind of verdict they'll give you."
"I... I only did it for the village..." Rakaon stuttered.
"Let's be clear. You did it for yourself, not the village," Caron corrected him. "Now then, shall we begin the trial?"
Caron had no intention of granting the elder an easy death.
***
The trial began. The elves who had returned with Leo willingly testified against the elder and the guards, revealing the extent of their crimes.
As a result—
"How could you have done such a thing?" one of the elves asked.
"We trusted you... No matter what, this is unacceptable!" another elf declared.
"You say that because you don't understand! Isn't it better to throw the outsiders out and survive rather than let the entire village perish? Think of the children—" Rakaon said, but wasn't able to finish his sentence.
"There were children among those you sold out," one of the elves pointed out.
"If you had been in my position, you would have made the same decision," Rakaon protested.
The argument escalated.
Perhaps Rakaon was trying to die as an honorable elder. His voice was far more desperate than when he had spoken to Caron, and he clung to any excuse that would absolve him. He refused to acknowledge that he had indiscriminately sold off his own people, still pretending he had done it for the village's sake.
"The real villains here are the dark elves—" Rakaon began.
Before he could finish, Caron spoke, dropping a piece of information for the villagers to hear. "I hear they promised you a position of power."
The atmosphere shifted.
A moment earlier, Caron had been viewed as a ruthless intruder, but now, the elves began to regard him with a degree of trust. Upon hearing his words, they turned on Rakaon, whispering among themselves.
"...To think the elder would betray us," an elf murmured.
"In the end, he planned to sell the entire village out. The dark elves themselves admitted it," one of the elves who had returned with Leo said.
"T-This is slander! Don't be fooled by that deceitful human's silver tongue! He is no better than a demon—" Rakaon tried to defend himself.
"I wasn't the one making deals with demons, was I? It was you, you bastard," Caron interrupted smoothly.
Caron wove truth with just the right amount of deception, tightening the noose around the elder.
"This is how you incite a crowd, you bastard," Guillotine said. It chuckled darkly, watching the trial unfold with amusement.
Of course, the elder wasn't the only one on trial. Those who had actively collaborated with him—those who had sided with the dark elves—kneeled on the ground, their hands bound.
The tide had turned completely. Whatever honor the elder had been trying to protect had already crumbled to dust, leaving behind only one thing: The mark of a traitor.
What a fitting end for a betrayer, Guillotine commented.
For all his grand talk about protecting the village, all the elder had really done was sell his own people. Saying that he'd done what he did to save the villagers was nothing more than a pretty excuse.
"But what if this old man had truly done everything only for the village's sake?" Guillotine posed a difficult question.
Caron let out a small chuckle and answered, "I wouldn't know. But that doesn't really matter."
"Why not?" Guillotine asked.
"Because that's not what happened. What's the point of thinking about it now?" Caron answered.
He thought there was no need to overcomplicate things. He would simply judge based on what he had seen and heard.
As Caron sat back and watched the trial unfold...
Meow.
Pluto let out a low whimper as it rubbed its head against Caron's leg.
Caron had ordered Pluto to patrol the perimeter of the village. If Pluto was reacting like this, it meant the dark elves were already on the move.
"...They're quicker than I thought," Caron remarked.
The dark elves must have confirmed that something had gone wrong in the village.
And at that moment...
Beeeeeep!
A deafening alarm echoed through the entire village. The alert system built into the barrier had been triggered.
"Dark elves! The dark elves are coming!" An elf, who had been standing guard in place of the village sentries, came running while shouting at the top of his lungs.
Elder Rakaon, as if waiting for this moment, seized the chance to yell, "Do you see now? The only reason you've all survived until now is because of—"
"Cut the crap," Caron cut him off. Without another word, he rose from his seat and approached Rakaon.
Smack!
Caron's palm struck the elder's cheek with enough force to send him into a foaming, unconscious heap on the ground.
"We'll resume the trial after we deal with the dark elves," Caron declared.
Through Pluto, he sensed their numbers. There were thirty in total. It wasn't a small force, but it didn't concern him much.
"Caron," Leo called out.
"Get ready, everyone," Caron said as he turned to Leo and Adina, flashing them a grin. "Let's show those black-blooded bastards who really own this village now."
At that, Leo let out a weary sigh and said, "Owns the village? What are we, bandits?"
"Are we not?" Caron asked, tilting his head.
Leo glanced around. He saw the elder sprawled out, knocked unconscious by Caron, and the elves who watched from a distance, their eyes filled with fear.
"...Yes, we are bandits," Leo admitted.
"Not a bad career path, honestly," Caron said with a chuckle.
Leo groaned. As expected, Caron had an unshakable sense of self-awareness.
And so, with casual banter, they made their way toward the village entrance.
"Let's just hold out until the tiger clan arrives. Ah, it's been a while since I've been in a proper brawl. Fun times ahead, right, Leo?" Caron remarked.
The scent of battle thickened in the air over Nenya Village.